The Slytherin's Princess
by straightlyconfused
Summary: Professional Qudditch, A Group Sex Scandal and Draco Malfoy - oh my! What happens when Hermione gets drawn into the world of Draco Malfoy as he tries to put back together the pieces of his Quidditch career? Will she stay or will she go? (Smut and mention of Group Sex - if this offends you then this isn't the story for you!)
1. Chapter 1

Hi All,

I have written this story in response to a 'Dramione Challenge' posted by SlytherinPrincessXx. She gave us almost 50 prompts and we were to chose as many as we liked from this list. Here are the prompts I have chosen: 3) Mandatory. 6) "So you're saying that you're the one responsible?". 14) The Exception To The Rule. 25) Temptation. 27) "Who in their bloody right mind does that?!. 40) News. 47) Secrets. We do not have to use these prompts specifically, they are to do just as their name suggests and prompt those of us partaking in the challenge. This is my first challenge story so be nice and let me know how I'm going (constructively!).

It feels great to be back.

Straight xx

XxXxX

The alarm clock on her bedside table showed 3:30am but that is not what had stirred Hermione from her sleep. It was the continual bleeping of her mobile phone which sat on her bedside table near her head. Still groggy with barely there consciousness, she reached for her phone and read the same text message from Harry sent through to her 7 times,

_Ring ASAP 'Mione please. Major emergency!_

Almost instantly, Hermione shot out of bed and was smashing the buttons on her mobile impatiently trying to find Harry's number. At the same time she was praying that he was ok, Ron was ok, Ginny was ok.. that basically everyone was ok and no one was dead. The phone rung for exactly one and a half rings before Harry answered and straight away Hermione could hear he was extremely stressed.

"Oh thank god 'Mione!"

"Are you ok Harry?! What's wrong?!" she asked, worriedly.

He sighed a defeated sounding sigh before he explained,

"I'm sorry to wake you 'Mione but I'm having a major work crisis and I need a massive favour"

A work crisis? Slowly, Hermione felt the simmer of anger bubble in her blood as she grit her teeth and said very slowly down the phone,

"Harry please tell me you did not wake me up at 3:30am because of a bloody Quidditch drama"

"I know 'Mione I'm sorry" Harry pleaded, "But it is a major emergency I promise - an entire Quidditch team is in massive trouble and I need a really big favour"

"You have got to be kidding me…" Hermione grumbled angrily.

"Please 'Mione!"

"Fine!" she snapped, "What is it?"

"I need Draco to come and stay with you for a couple of days… possibly a week… maybe two"

"What?! Why?!"

"The entire Falcon's squad is facing an interrogation after news broke early this morning that the entire team has been involved in a major sex scandal"

Hermione was shocked, "A sex scandal?! The entire team… how?!"

Harry groaned, more to himself then her Hermione thought, "A group sex scandal"

"A-Are you kidding?" Hermione spluttered.

"Merlin I wish I was" Harry sighed, "Look 'Mione the main point is that this story is going to be on the front cover of every newspaper come daylight and I need to get Malfoy out of Falmouth. He's the teams best player and because of that he's valuable. Management don't want him anywhere near the rest of his team mates or anywhere near his house when the media catch wind of this. They want him to lay low someplace where the reporters won't find him and, just in case they do find him, they want him to be somewhere he will look respectable and won't further damage his image"

"And that's my place?" she asked skeptically.

"Please 'Mione!" Harry begged, "I know you and Draco get along ok now since the War - in fact Ginny says you've got a bit of a thing for him by the way - but I know more then anything that you will keep him under control and you won't sell him out… please!"

"Oh god Harry stop begging!" she snapped, "Fine! If you think Malfoy staying here to hide out from a sex scandal is best then fine… but send him through the floo from your connection because I am too tired to connect another location to my network right now. What time can I expect his highness?"

"Oh thank you 'Mione! Thank you! Draco's actually at my place already… I'll send him through in 2 minutes! Thank you and I'll owe you one I promise!"

"No Harry" Hermione muttered, annoyed, "You owe me a billion and tell Ginny that I do not have a thing for Malfoy - especially right now!"

"I will 'Mione and you're right I do owe you a billion… thank you, thank you. I'll send Draco through in a moment"

Not wanting to hear anymore, Hermione hung up on him and glared angrily at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was fuzzy and out of control from sleep and she was going to have major black bags under her eyes tomorrow and Lavender would have a fit. She stormed out of her room in her pyjama pants and a singlet and into the guest bedroom, poking her head through the door to check it was made up nicely - which of course it was because this was Hermione's apartment - before she heard the "ting" of the floo meaning there was an incoming and in a puff of smoke, Draco Malfoy appeared inside her living room, bag in hand and brushing the dust from his clothes.

"You're a pain in my ass Malfoy" she grumbled at him.

"I have been a pain in the ass of many girls princess" he said slowly, finally looking up at her, "But never yours… I would have remembered that"

He was gorgeous. He had always been gorgeous, Hermione supposed, but never more-so then when they left school and he begun playing Professional Quidditch. He bulked up a lot, started styling his hair in that 'bed-head-i'm not-even-trying-but-I-so-am" look that let it hang loose in a messy fashion and started covering his body in tattoos as seemed to be the fashion in this days youth - although the ink did suit him.

"Just shut up" Hermione snapped, "The guest bedroom is though there, bathroom is next door, that is my room, over there is the kitchen and that's it. I'm going back to bed, I'd suggest you do the same and if I catch so much as a porno magazine in this house Malfoy I am going to throw your ass out onto the street and let the media have their way with you!"

"Have you noticed how everything you're saying sounds suggestive 'Mione or is it just me?"

He was such a tool Hermione thought to herself as she did nothing more then glare at him and storm back into her room, slamming her bedroom door behind her. In no universe was this ok, she'd been dragged out of bed over Quidditch- a sport she didn't even like- to house a moron who'd gotten himself into trouble for participating in a freaking group sex act! Well this, in no way, shape or form, was turning out to be your usual Thursday night/Friday morning.

XxXxX

As always, please review - I love to hear your thoughts!

xx


	2. Chapter 2

Bonsoir everyone,

(Well its Bonsoir from where I am)

Thank you so much for the feedback I got on my first chapter of The Slytherin's Princess. Its made me so happy that I decided to post this chapter a little ahead of schedule.

I hope you enjoy!

xx

XxXxX

Hermione was a lot calmer a few hours later. She reminded herself how much she loved Harry and after everything he'd done for her over the years she could play host to one idiot for a bit. She knew that idiot was already awake this morning because she could hear him moving about the apartment. Sure, it was weird that he was here and perhaps Ginny hadn't been entirely off the mark when she'd told Harry that Hermione had a 'thing' for Malfoy - although it wasn't really a thing as much as it was that Hermione found him incredibly attractive physically and who wouldn't? Despite her snapping at Malfoy - Draco - last night, Hermione and he were actually on civil terms. They had been ever since he had switched sides in the war - they weren't best friends, barely friends really, but they could be in the same vicinity without screaming at each other and the overwhelming urge to curse his arse was gone too - well except for at 3:30am this morning.

With a small yawn, Hermione dragged herself out of bed and into her wardrobe where she dressed herself in a cute darkish blue dress that clung to her body but pleated out at the end and some cute nude heels. If anyone had asked Hermione three years ago what career path she thought she'd take she'd have said anyone but this one. Hermione was a part owner in a very successful high-end clothing boutique. After the war, when Ron and Lavender had gotten back together again, Lavender had approached Ginny and Hermione with an idea. She wanted to open a boutique that sold high-end labels but that were more in line with the current muggle fashions and eventually move up to designing her own label which could also be sold in the shop. Since she'd had some money to spare and Hermione did have to acknowledge how good with her style Lavender was, Hermione had invested as a partner 50/50. Surprisingly, to Hermione anyway, Lavender's idea of muggle-based fashions for magical folk took off and the business became a massive success. Ginny had come on board to invest 20% as a silent partner (leaving Hermione and Lavender with 40% each) and that had allowed the girls to purchase a new building and move their boutique to Diagon Alley where they were swamped with business every day. They were looking at opening a second boutique very soon. In the meantime though, Hermione was running the boutique as Lavender had stepped back to begin working on her new label which Hermione was confident would do well and which they would indeed stock in their business. What had shocked Hermione, was that she actually liked working in fashion - for the first time since she was 11 yrs old she was able to be feminine and dress in pretty dresses and wear heels and do her hair. It was a change from her years at Hogwarts when time hadn't allowed her to discover her feminine side with Voldemort constantly trying to kill Harry and then eventually the War.

Once her make up was done and her hair was curled into loose curls instead of looking like the frizzy mess it had been last night, Hermione took a deep breath and ventured out into her living room, following the source of Malfoy's noise to the kitchen and it was there that she almost fell over from shock. There were a number of things that were shocking about the site before Hermione's eyes - firstly, Draco Malfoy was cooking, secondly, he was also cleaning (as he cooked) and thirdly, he stood there in a long pair of workout pants but no shirt and merlin's beard you could have grated cheese on those extremely defined, very appealing abs of his. Sensing he was being watched, he turned around and smiled at Hermione.

"Morning princess, feeling a little less cranky this morning?"

"Y-You can hardly blame me for being cranky at 3:30am this morning…" she muttered, accepting the mug of tea he handed her.

"You can sit" he told her, "I'm making you breakfast to say thank you"

"You don't have to do that"

He shrugged, drawing Hermione's attention to his muscled arms, "Yeah but I should"

Seconds later, he had deposited a plate in front of her. He'd made soft poached eggs, on toast with avocado, tomato and mushrooms and it smelled heavenly. He joined her at the table with his own plate and they fell into a comfortable silence as they ate their meal. Hermione worked very hard to focus solely on her breakfast and not glance at Malfoy, a feat which only became harder when she realised she could feel him glancing at her.

"So every paper in the area - well all of England really- is going to be running the story today and my instructions are to stay here, keep my head down and do not leave the apartment. I hope that's ok with you 'Mione?"

Now feeling slightly uncomfortable, Hermione simply nodded quickly and sipped at her tea, continuing to avoid looking at him.

"I'll clean up after myself and I'll even respect your rule about not bringing anything even remotely sexual into your place"

"That's not what I said" Hermione said, blushing as she corrected him, "I said if I find so much as a porno magazine and I shouldn't have even said that. What you chose to read is your business, not mine"

She had to look at him now and he was watching her with a strange look on his face, as if he was studying her.

"Well porno mags have never been my style anyway…" he said, smirking.

"True. Why read about an orgy when you can have one?" Hermione snapped.

Straight away she blushed and knew what she'd said was out of line but the whole topic was making her extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry" she said quickly, "I shouldn't have said that. Its not my business"

She expected Draco to get angry or storm off but he didn't. He simply shrugged, still watching her.

"Well it's true isn't it? The whole breaking news today is only going to prove your point"

"W-ah - what happened?" Hermione stuttered out.

She was blushing as red as a tomato as she asked, she could feel it, but she wanted to know, needed to know what the papers were going to be saying.

He cleared away their plates, depositing them in the sink, before he refilled Hermione's mug and came to sit back down, now fixing her with an intense stare as he explained to her the situation.

"Well we won our game over the Magpies last weekend and so the boys and I went out partying. The thing about professional Quidditch players is that whenever they're out, every girl in the area seems to forget she's married or engaged or trying not to be such a slut this week and they throw themselves at you. They're meaningless fucks really, they want to be able to brag that they've slept with a player and you just want to get laid really. Although, last weekend the situation was a little over the top but I guess that's because when all the bars ended shutting up for the night we weren't ready to go home so we found the only place still open with a bar which was technically a brothel. We weren't in the brothel section of the establishment, there is a bar attached to it, but well one thing lead to another and the next minute a bunch of girls were approaching us asking if we wanted to have a little fun and … well you're 7 guys out for a good night and you've been drinking and you're horny as fuck… Anyway, it probably would have been ok except that one of the girls was an undercover reporter who claimed she liked to 'watch' and we were too drunk and stupid to catch on"

"So you just had an orgy…?" Hermione said slowly, still trying to even process what he'd just said.

Draco shrugged, "Yeah why not?"

"Um because you're entire life is in the limelight and because its disgusting?" Hermione bit back.

"I just focus on the girls princess, I wasn't watching the boys … we all just happened to be in the same room"

"oh my god" Hermione muttered to herself as she got up to clean the dishes.

This was done with a flick of her wand and she quickly placed them back into their respective cupboards before she turned, grabbing her things from the bench and made for the front door.

"Hey! 'Mione wait!"

Draco chased her to the front door and grabbed her wrist, gently, turning her to face him,

"It was a mistake" he said quietly, "I regret it and now my entire career is on the line because I couldn't keep it in my pants and I wasn't sober enough to realise that there was a reporter in the room. Just - There is going to be a lot of information flying around today and not all of it will be true, just please don't believe any of it until I've told you for sure ok?"

"Why should it even matter what I believe Draco?" she asked him, "I'm not your family, your friends… I'm not anyone of importance"

"No" he disagreed, "You're important"

And that was the last thing Hermione heard before his lips descended onto hers.

XxXxX

As always… reviews let me know what you think and I love to know what you think!

Straight xx


	3. Chapter 3

Hello FanFiction Followers,

Happy Easter!

Here is the next instalment of 'Slytherin's Princess'.

Love to you all for waiting so patiently!

Straight xx

XxXxXx

The shop had been so busy that day that Hermione had barely had a chance to sit down, let alone think about Malfoy and the fantastic kiss they'd shared that morning- he'd literally had her up against her front door and he'd snogged her silly. She couldn't help but blush as she was finally able to fully comprehend what had happened as she stepped out for her lunch break. He'd kissed her, he'd probably been flirting with her earlier on in the morning with all that teasing about the porno mags and what not and last, but not least, he'd said she was important. What was that supposed to mean?

She passed one of the many Daily Prophet newsstands on the way to her favourite little deli to grab a sandwich when she saw the headline, "ENTIRE FALCON'S TEAM SHAMED IN SEX SCANDAL!". Unable to help herself, Hermione stopped to buy a copy, reading it while in line at the deli

_"Players, coaching staff and management personnel from the Falmouth Falcons have all ducked for cover today as the British Quidditch League is rocked by a scandal. Karl Broadmoor, once a famous beater for the club now turned coach, refused to comment on the recent behaviour of his players. _

_This reporter was present at the scene last Saturday night which saw the Falcon's players partake in a big night of drinking, drugs and, finally, debauchery as the entire team participated in what can only be described as a massive group sex experience. This reporter finds that this situation may have taken the term "team bonding" and blown it out of the water. At the centre of the scandal is the Falcon's MVP and seeker, Draco Malfoy, whose past has been littered with an alarmingly large number of questionable sexual partners. It is being suggested that the Falcon's team found themselves present at the Amber Stone Brothel last Saturday night at the request of teammate Malfoy who was boasting to have set his fellow players up with the 'experience of a lifetime' and that it was. However, perhaps it can be said that Malfoy's fellow teammates are now regretting following along with Malfoy's 'you only live once' attitude. This reporter witnessed as the team were secluded in a curtained off area with a group of no-less-then eight girls - two of whom are suspected to have only just turned seventeen. No comment has been made by any of the girls all whom fear repercussion from Malfoy if they speak with us. _

_The Falcon's coach and management team are set to make a statement about the issue and disciplinary action for the players after the club has been able to conduct their own investigation into the matter aided by Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports Harry Potter. _

_Stay tuned for further news on the developing scandal"_

The reporter - the same one Draco said was with them she supposed - had all but blamed the entire situation on him. Was that fair, Hermione wondered, she didn't know but she did know the reporter had gotten one thing right - Malfoy's past was littered with a large number of previous sexual partners. Perhaps he had the kinds of connections to set up that kind of finale to their night? Although he had told her that the group of girls had approached them…Sandwich in hand, Hermione made her way back to the shop vowing not to spend another thought on the whole situation because, firstly, it wasn't happening to her and, secondly, Draco had said not to believe any of it until she spoke to him first… not that it really mattered anyway. She stuck by what she'd said this morning, she wasn't his family and barely his friend and even though they'd had an amazing kiss right after he'd told her she was important it didn't really change anything did it?

XxXxX

Later on that day, Hermione finally found herself heading home after one of their biggest sales days on record. She was trying to calm herself as she apparated out the front of her building by telling herself that, whatever Draco wanted, now was a horrible time for her to be involved with him by any standard because right now he was being accused of orchestrating an orgy. She got up to her level and unlocked the front door only to find she needn't have bothered giving herself a pep talk… Harry was there.

"I didn't plan shit Potter" Draco was saying and he seemed none-to-pleased.

"Well you understand I had to ask don't you Draco? I can't allow the Falcons to purger themselves for you"

Their conversation came to a massive pause as Hermione stepped inside and put her things away on the hallway table.

"Hi Harry" she said quietly, "Draco"

She didn't miss the look Draco gave her, the one that said he wished he was anywhere else with her that didn't include Harry or other people.

"Thanks so much for doing me this favour 'Mione. The press have been searching for Draco all day long - no one has any idea where he is"

"Well I would assume that was the point" Hermione said.

Harry nodded, "Draco and I are just tearing this stupid article apart from the Prophet - just working out what is the truth and what isn't"

Draco sighed, "Let me make it very easy for you Potter. I went to the Amber Stone with the guys- true. I had a lot to drink - true. I had pre-organised an orgy for the boys and myself - false. As for the ages of the girls… honestly I have no idea but none of them would have been 17 I can guarantee that"

"And the part where your past is littered with an alarmingly large number of questionable sexual partners?" Hermione asked, quietly.

She saw Draco look back at her and almost thought she saw a flash of upset in his eyes before he blinked and it was gone.

"That is nobody's business except mine and the questionable sexual partners" he said, also quietly.

Harry sighed and noted some stuff down in a notebook Hermione hadn't even realised he held until he flipped it open.

"When will the club be through investigating this?" Draco asked.

"Tomorrow. They will make a media announcement" Harry replied, "They obviously want to be able to play the players who are cleared of everything except poor judgement this weekend against Ballymore"

"So that should be the entire team…" Draco said firmly, "The entire team is completely innocent except for poor bloody judgement"

"Lets just hope they see it that way…" Harry muttered.

Draco sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair and Hermione saw just how stressed he was in that moment. She didn't know what she could do or say, if anything, to better the situation so instead she went to make tea. While in the kitchen she could continue to hear their conversation,

"I'm not taking the fall for this Harry" Draco said, quietly, "I didn't plan this. My only fault is the same as everyone else's - that I was stupid enough to go along with the situation. I should have known that unplanned orgies are never a good idea but, well really, who was going to turn it down?"

"I would have" Harry muttered

"Well that's because you're Saint-Fucking-Potter isn't it?" Draco snapped, "I don't function like that- I actually have a penis, not a vagina, and its a fully functional penis that has the ability to control my brain in alcohol fuelled situations!"

Hermione came back into the living room placing a cup of tea in front of both boys just as Harry snapped,

"And what about situations without alcohol? Can I trust you to control your penis then or am I going to have to chase you around to every place you go inhabited by the female population for the rest of your career?!"

"I am completely in control of myself and my penis in a sober situation Potter. Whatever I do is exactly what I want to do"

He'd responded to Harry but he was looking at Hermione as he said it making his meaning absolutely crystal clear. Hermione cringed as he did it because Harry was not stupid.

"What's going on here?!" Harry demanded.

Draco shot a look back at him, raising an eyebrow, "What's going on where Potter? We were discussing my currently rocky career"

"You know very well what I mean Malfoy!" Harry snapped, "Why did you look at Hermione when you said that?"

"Said what?"

"That! That you were completely in control of yourself when sober! What is going on?"

Draco smirked back at Harry and Hermione knew instantly that this wasn't going to go down well.

"Oh that… I snogged Hermione this morning"

She could almost do a countdown in her head… 5….4…3…2…

"WHAT?!''

"Harry just calm down" she told him quietly.

"Calm down! I sent him to live with you to keep him out of the limelight for being such a complete tosser and now I find the first thing he did when he got here was drag you into his messed up love life"

"Well actually the first thing I did when I got here was get warned by Granger that she isn't partial to pornographic material being kept in her house, then I used the bathroom, then I went to sleep, then I got up and made Granger and myself breakfast, then I told her the story of the orgy…. and then I snogged her… or got her involved in my messed up love life - if you'd prefer"

Rolling his eyes at Malfoy, Harry now turned to Hermione,

"Why didn't you tell me 'Mione?"

"Because it wasn't a big deal Harry" she said, sighing, "It was a kiss and nothing more. It doesn't mean anything"

"Are you sure?" Harry asked her.

"Yes! We're not children anymore Harry - a kiss can just be a kiss. Now I'm going to leave you and Draco and I'm going to go and cook dinner because this conversation feels as though it may be over. Would you like to stay for dinner Harry?"

The two boys exchanged looks before Harry said,

"No thank you 'Mione I can't. Ginny is already at home cooking dinner and if I'm much later then I am now I'm going to be in trouble. Can you walk me to the door?"

Nodding, Hermione followed Harry back towards her front door. He gave her a hug and while he was able, said quietly to her,

"If he gives you any trouble 'Mione and I mean any at all, just let me know and I'll find another hide out for him. Don't let him take advantage of you"

"Oh for pity's sake Harry, its Malfoy thats all. He never has and never will be able to get the upper hand on me, now go or Ginny is going to kick your ass"

Although she could tell he wasn't pleased about leaving, Harry nodded and waved goodbye to Malfoy who still stood in the living room watching them before he departed and Hermione shut the door behind him. The door had been shut not two seconds before…

"Are you sure Hermione?"

"Am I sure of what?" she asked him, confused.

"That our little snog this morning meant nothing?"

She glanced at him curiously. He still stood where he'd been standing speaking to Harry but now he looked different, more relaxed.

"Let me ask you something" she told him, "Why did you kiss me this morning and why did you tell me I was important?"

"I see what I want and I go for it Princess- its the way I am and the way I've always been except once…"

He was walking towards her now and Hermione didn't know whether she should move to get away from him or stay where she was and let him approach. For lack of a better idea, she stood still,

"Once?" she asked him.

"Once" he confirmed as he came to stand in front of her, "I wanted you from the moment I saw you when you returned to school in 6th year… You blossomed physically and the male attention you were getting softened you, you stopped being so in everyone's face in class and out of class and I got to actually see flickers of the real 'Hermione' and she drove me wild, especially all though the war living in Grimmaud Place with her. All i wanted to do was sneak into her room late one night and sink myself deep inside her, show her what I could do to her and claim her as mine and make her forget every other guy out there even existed but, for the first time in my life, I didn't know how to get the thing I wanted. Now its different though, I'm older, a little wiser and I've got unrestricted access to you for at least the next couple of days…"

"D-Don't I get a say in this?" Hermione spluttered.

"Of course you do Princess… but I don't think i'll hear to many objections"

His mouth was angling down now and Hermione knew he was about to kiss her again and she probably would have gone along with it had it not been for the little voice in her head that decided to make itself known at just the right time, screaming at her to think and consider just who was about to kiss her… again. Gently, she put a hand up to Malfoy's chiseled chest and pushed him back. She could tell by the look in his eyes, the confusion, that women very rarely rejected him.

"No offence Draco but you're name is currently being splashed across every media source in England for having an orgy with a couple of club skanks. They're also dragging your past sexual history through the mud and you'll have to forgive me if I don't want my name to be another name they can ruin just because i'm 'the one that got away'. The kiss this morning, while nice, can't happen again. I'm sorry, now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go and make us dinner"

Watching as shocked registered across his features, Hermione stepped back and around Draco and headed for her kitchen. Were her hormones rife with chaos? Yes. Had she made the right decision though despite her frazzled hormones? Definitely.

XxXxXx

Please rate & review

(They make me write faster =P )


	4. Chapter 4

Good Evening All,

Thank you for the reviews I have received over the last couple of days - they mean a lot.  
>As promised, reviews help to inspire me to write quicker and voila! another chapter.<p>

Enjoy!

Straight xx

XxXxXx

The next morning Hermione was up early. She'd gone to bed earlier then usual after having dinner with Draco. He had remained shocked after she'd managed to walk away from him and his roaring sex drive and eventually the shock had become to trying for Hermione who, towards the end, felt like snapping at Malfoy and telling him to get over it, rejection was inevitable at least once in his life. However, she didn't. Instead she went to bed early and got a good night's sleep. The sleep had done wonders for her mood and she had gotten up that morning, showered and dressed while planning out her day. She was going to make them both a nice breakfast before she went into Muggle London to check out some of the latest fashions gracing the stores - she considered it research for the shop. She'd dressed herself that day in skinny jeans and a red singlet with a pair of white pumps to match the white ribbon she'd used to tie her straightened hair up with.

Heading into the kitchen, Hermione busied herself collecting ingredients having decided to cook them both an omelette each for breakfast. Omelettes were a healthy breakfast option and she knew that Draco - being an athlete - would probably live on a very healthy diet of proteins, carbs, vegetables and so on. She cracked the eggs into the bowl, added some milk and then tossed in ingredients like lean bacon, mushrooms, cheese, corn, spinach and whatever else healthy and "breakfasty" she could find. She had just poured the first batch into the fry pan when she heard the guest bedroom door open and Malfoy appeared, similar to yesterday morning, in only his long pyjama pants. A sudden knock on the kitchen window was heard and Hermione opened it to allow a visiting owl inside. The bird flew straight to Draco depositing a letter into his hands and flying straight off, obviously not expecting a reply. Hermione tried to mind her business and worked at focusing on not burning breakfast as he silently read the letter.

She'd just served up his omelette and placed it on the little dining table for him when he sighed and dropped the letter onto the kitchen bench. She gestured towards his omelette which he gave her a small smile for and sat to eat it.

"Good news?" She had to ask, she was too nosey not to know.

"Good enough" he replied, "The club needs to do further investigations but for now they are going to let me play against Ballymore tomorrow. They still want me to stay out of the media eye as much as possible though which, depending on what Harry says, means I may be here a little longer"

She shrugged, "That's fine"

"Is it?" he asked her, seriously.

"Yes" she laughed, "It is…honestly"

She served up her own omelette and joined him at the dining table. He watched her as she nonchalantly sprinkled a bit of salt on her omelette and, finally, tucked into his own when he realised she obviously meant to say no more on the matter.

"So when is the press conference?"

"Today at 3pm"

"Are you going to it?"

He nodded, "Yeah they want the whole team there - kind of a show of alliance which is probably not necessary. After all, the team that orgies together stays together"

Hermione looked up at him so quickly that she almost felt her neck crack but he was smirking and she realised he'd been making a joke, not sharing a team bonding strategy.

"Will you come with me?" he asked her.

She frowned, "To the press conference? why?"

He shrugged, "Support, curiosity… so I can see a friendly face in amongst of sea of judgemental ones?"

"Ah yes sure, I can come" she said, slowly.

In truth, Hermione was surprised he'd asked her. In that split second where he'd thrown the question at her he'd show a small amount of vulnerability and Hermione was surprised that Draco would drop his guard like that around her. They weren't exactly close after all.

He nodded but said no more and continued to finished off his breakfast. When they were both done, he took their plates, cleaned them and put them away in their respective cupboards like Hermione had done yesterday morning.

"So where are you off to? You're obviously going somewhere since you're dressed so nicely…"

"I'm just going out to check out some different stores… see what fashions they are stocking in"

"In Wizarding London?" he asked her.

"Well…no" Hermione said, "We base the fashions in our store on in-trend muggle fashions with a magical twist about it so I'm going into Muggle London"

He smiled, "Perfect! I'll come with you…"

He bounded off into the guest bedroom leaving Hermione shocked for a moment. He'd left his bedroom door open so Hermione quickly walked up to stand in the doorway.

"Why?!"

He was puling a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of his travel bag and promptly started to strip off his work out pants and change… obviously not bothered by Hermione's presence.

"Because if I don't get out of this apartment soon - no offence - but I'm going to get cabin fever and Harry said to stay away from the media and what a better way to avoid the wizarding media then to go into the muggle world. Plus I can keep you company and I promise you can talk to me all about fashion and I'll even pretend to listen"

"Oh how generous of you" Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

A moment later he was ready and having not come up with any good reason as to why he shouldn't be able to come with her, Hermione begrudglingly accepted that he was going to tag along and they flooed into the Leaky Cauldron. She waved at Tom and walked straight out the door into the muggle world as Draco ducked his head and thread his way through the patrons attempting to avoid recognition. Once they were out onto the muggle street though, he relaxed.

"Where to first Princess?"

They walked along the streets for a while casually as they made their way to Hermione's first stop. As they went, Draco was able to take in some of the more interesting facets of the muggle world… like taxis and parking meters and a woman carrying a umbrella in case of rain.

"You know I've grown to respect Muggles over the years Granger" he told her, "They live fairly normal lives without magic - just their gadgets"

"So do you think you could ever live as a Muggle?" she asked him in return.

He thought for a moment, "Not willingly. I could do it I suppose but I love magic to much to give it up willingly"

She nodded as if she understood and they kept walking. A moment later, Hermione paused in front of a shop called "Shimmer Chic".

"I should warn you now.. "Hermione told him, "The guy in this shop is extremely gay and he is going to love you… I'll understand if you want to stay outside"

Draco, however, shrugged, "I'll be fine Princess… it wouldn't be my first encounter with a gay man and it probably won't be my last. I have an entire gay following in the Quidditch leagues"

She pulled open the door muttering, "Don't say I didn't warn you" before they stepped inside. 'Shimmer' was an understatement Draco very quickly realised as he noticed that every single piece of clothing in the shop had some kind of sparkle on it.

"Ah Hermione, my love!" A shrill male voice called out from across the shop.

A tall male figure made their way towards them dressed in a pair of the tightest jeans Draco had ever seen and wearing a black t-shirt that had a bedazzled red rose on it.

"Ben" Hermione greeted him, wearing a big smile because she knew what was coming.

"Oh my god! Hand me a bucket because if I drool on the stock i'll be fired! Who is this you've got with you?!"

"Ben this is Draco. Draco this is Ben. Draco is - "

"- her boyfriend" Draco cut across her.

He took Ben's hand and shook it firmly while he wrapped an arm around Hermione. He wasn't feeling uncomfortable or even the littlest bit of unease in Ben's presence… This had been his play from the moment Hermione had mentioned the shop's assistant was gay. Draco had simply constructed for himself a way to get closer to Hermione, touch her and, generally, annoy her.

"Boyfriend? Oh drat! Well you've got great taste Hermione- he's gorgeous!" Ben said, almost sulkily.

Draco smiled and pressed a kiss to Hermione's temple as she stood still, shocked that she had been dragged into this rouse by Draco. Ben, however, didn't seem to notice.

"So you're accompanying Hermione on her little scouting trip today Draco?" Ben asked him.

Draco frowned, "You know what she's doing?"

"Of course!" Ben scoffed, "Hermione and I go way back! We went to school together… I know she's running her own little store and I let her in here some Saturdays when the manager is out so she can snoop… I'm a little hurt she obviously hasn't told you about me"

"Well it was a very quick jump from friends to dating wasn't it love?" Draco asked, smirking at Hermione.

"Yes" she said slowly, "Draco is full of surprises. One moment he was this bum sleeping on my couch and the next minute we're dating"

"A bum?" Ben asked, surprised, "You don't look as though you've been terribly hard up to me"

Draco chuckled, "When Hermione says 'bum' she means borrowing her couch for a few nights. I'm a professional athlete and I was in town on a stop over when I came to visit and crashed on her couch. I don't think that quite qualifies me as a bum love"

He gave her a cheeky swat on her backside before he pulled her close against and pressed another kiss to her temple, his audacity momentarily silencing her.

"Oh an athlete! Good score Hermione! Hey is it true what they say about athletes having an awesome sexual stamina?"

"Ben!" Hermione spluttered.

"It is" Draco said, winking at him, "Hermione, however, wouldn't know. She's been keeping me on ice - its a dreadful feeling Ben"

"Draco!" She snapped.

"Hermione why?!" Ben demanded, "How can you just look at him and not want to rip his clothes off?! Are you going for sainthood?!"

"I - You - Ah! Just show me the clothes Ben please!"

Draco smirked and winked at Ben as Hermione stomped off into the shop.

"She wouldn't be so tense if she'd let me show her my stamina" he said cheekily.

Ben, who was still attempting not to drool at the sight of this beautiful man, just nodded and followed Hermione dazedly. They walked around the store for a good half an hour after that with Hermione pulling out different items, examining them, holding them up against herself good a size comparison and chatting to Ben about bits and pieces to do with the range. Draco did as promise, he followed her and pretended to listen when really all he was thinking about was how stunning Hermione looked in her element- working away and chatting to an old friend. When Ben, however, had to move off to serve a waiting client, Draco saw his chance and moved in. Hermione was holding a black sequin dress and examining the material when he came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him.

"You should try that on" he whispered in her ear.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, "And no - its shocking quality. Its just pretty but could be done so much nicer then this"

"I don't give a fuck about the dress Granger. I just like the idea of bailing you up in the change room"

"Which brings me back to my question, what are you doing?"

He pressed a gentle kiss behind her ear as his arm not currently securing her in place, came to rest on her upper thigh, brushing along her jeans teasingly.

"Just giving you a taste of what its like to have my attention on you - as someone important to me"

"Oh great" Hermione said sarcastically, "So now you're trying to tell me that this is how you carry on with your mother in stores?"

He chuckled but didn't move, "Nice try Granger. You're trying to gross me out so I'll back off but I'm not buying it. You said you don't want your name associated with any 'club skanks' when it comes to me and that's fair, I can respect that. Here in the muggle world though, I'm just Draco and you're just Hermione and I can hit on you, feel you up, kiss you as much as I can coax you to allow"

"And if I'll allow nothing?"

"You haven't stopped me yet Princess. You allowed me to convince your old school friend that I'm your boyfriend and kiss you on the head and now you're allowing me to feel your body flush against mine as I give you more kisses"

Carefully, he took the dress from her hand and hung it back on the rack before he slowly turned her to face him and used a hand to angle her chin upwards as his head dipped down towards her, his lips brushing against hers.

"And even if we were in the Wizarding World…" he said quietly, "You'd never be just another name linked with the 'club skanks'. Like I said, you're important to me"

He pressed his lips firmly against hers then, kissing her slowly but passionately, and she didn't stop him. On some subconscious level, Hermione realised she'd half expected him to try something like this and he was right, she hadn't stopped it. She'd allowed it to happen and now she was allowing him to kiss her and she was enjoying it. She was so lost in what was happening but Draco maintained some level of awareness as he didn't give in to his baser instincts which were to run his hands all over, he respected that they were in public… for now.

"Well look at the love birds" Ben cooed.

Hermione blushed as they broke part, she didn't need to look at Draco to know he'd be looking smug.

"I dug up our stock list for you Hermione while you were snogging Governor Gorgeous over here.. Don't let that out of your sight until you get home or I will be in the biggest of troubles" Ben warned her.

"I won't" Hermione promised him.

She felt Draco slip his hand into hers and she quickly bid Ben goodbye before she was pulled out onto the street. The cool air cleared her mind somewhat and she realised that she and Draco needed to go somewhere where they could have a chat. She pulled him in the direction of a small cafe just down the street.

"You need to explain to me what you're doing" she told him firmly once they each had a tea in front of them.

He raised an eyebrow at her slowly, "I thought I'd made that pretty clear Princess"

"Try again" she told him.

Sighing, he put down his tea and reached out to hold her hand in his, squeezing it a second.

"I. want. you" he said slowly, "Not just to mess around with, not just because you're so sexy you drive me insane but because you're a perfect combination of sex appeal with brains to me. You're not a bimbo or a 'club skank' Hermione and you look after yourself, you have goals and you'd tell me to fuck off the moment I did wrong by you. I told you that I already let you get away once because I was an immature dick that didn't know how to get your attention and keep it but its different now and the timing is shit because I'm currently being made to look like the biggest manwhore around but I don't care. I'm not going anywhere and I, very selfishly, want you for myself. I'm not giving that up a second time"

"I just - um - I"

"Take all the time you need Princess" he said, shrugging, "I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to stop trying to kiss you or hold you or challenging you because when you get fired up it fires me up… if you know what I mean. I'm here… and if I have to wait until this media mess blows over before you feel comfortable enough to give me a chance then so be it but I'm not going anywhere"

He was so sure of everything that Hermione wasn't quite sure what to say. Yes, he was drop dead gorgeous and fit and intelligent and everything, yes he had a bad reputation with girls and his name was being dragged through the mud right now because of that… but none of that to him seemed to matter and it made Hermione wonder if it should matter to her. She'd never been one to worry after her image before anyway … but this was so much more then an image. He didn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon - he seemed quite set on hounding her until she agreed to give him a chance. Did she just cut to the chase and give him the chance or tell him to tell his story walking? She decided to try for honesty.

"I don't want to tell you no…" she said slowly, "But I can't be dragged through this media circus with you Draco. It sounds horrible and selfish but part of my clean, trustworthy image translates to our store and my livelihood and I can't risk that… It affects more then just me if my good image gets called into question"

He frowned, "That stings to know that getting involved with me is a liability to you but at the moment I respect that. This drama is going to blow over and when it does I will rebuild a new image, turn over a new leaf… I'll be done with the bimbos and skanks if you will give me a chance Hermione. I wouldn't risk anything with you for the bimbos and skunks. I'm happy to keep everything low key for now so that no one finds out but when this drama is over and i'm rebuilding my image I need to know you'll be comfortable being seen with me then because I won't hide my entire life from the media forever either - it makes living my life too hard"

"If I give you a chance then whatever we're doing with be kept low key and no one need ever find out and drag us both through the tabloids… if this thing seems like its going to work or whatever then we can talk about the public but for now… just us, just this please… ok?"

He nodded, "If that means you'll give me a chance then I can agree to that"

"Ok" she said smiling, "You have your chance Draco Malfoy… and if you ruin it I'm going to let Ben use the bedazzler - which is the machine which attaches all those little gems onto the shirts - on your balls … got it? and trust me… Ben would enjoy that in more ways then one"

Draco shuddered, "Ok agreed"

XxXxXx

As always, please let me know what you think by sending in a review.

xx


	5. Chapter 5

I'm baaaack! Thank you to all those people who have reviewed - you truly keep me going.

Straight xx

XxXxXx

After dragging Draco through four more fashion stores, at which he continued to joke about pulling her into change rooms to ravish her while attempting to ignore the blatant attempts of the shop assistants both female and male as they tried to get his attention, Hermione finally decided to call it a day and they stopped at a Chinese restaurant for lunch. Hermione had never laughed so hard as she watched Draco attempt to use his chopsticks to feed himself. He kept missing his mouth or loading up the chopsticks with to much food only to have it all fall everywhere and make a terrible mess. Finally he huffed and threw his chopsticks down,

"Is this some kind of horrendous muggle dieting technique? Because I can assure you the diet the Falcons have me on is just fine. I could show you if you'd like…"

He went to reach for his shirt to pull it up and show Hermione his glorious body but she stopped him quickly, unsure if he was joking or if he'd really expose his upper body in public to prove his point. She, finally, flagged down a waiter and asked for a fork.

"You told me they didn't have western cutlery here" he said

She giggled, "I lied. It was too funny to watch you suffer"

The fork was delivered and they commenced eating in silence but not for long…

"You know that I will extract revenge don't you 'Mione?" he said, quietly.

"Oh I'm scared now" she laughed, "What, pray tell, are you going to do to me Draco?"

"Well I always prefer to get my revenge physically" he said, while smirking, "So I guess you'll have to wait and see…"

Hermione shrugged, "Well I've barely experienced you 'physically' so I doubt i'll know what I'm missing out on…"

"Oh you'll know" he said winking, "You'll see"

Hermione watched him but giggled, "We'd better get going so that you can make it to your press conference in time"

They stood, having finished their meals, and Draco threw some galleons on the table and, with a sneaky swish of his wand, changed it to muggle money.

"I could have just paid…" Hermione said, "I mean I actually know the currency and you've overpaid them"

He shrugged and took her hand, leading her out into the street,

"I was never going to let you pay.. and you never will pay as long as you're secretly dating me. Its not gentleman like to allow that"

They crossed into a small alley way where prying eyes wouldn't see the bit of magic they were about to do.

"Are you sure you're not nervous?" Hermione asked him.

"Why should I be nervous?" he shrugged, "I know what the outcome of the announcement is"

"Yes but its a media conference… they could say things, ask things… maybe make it worse?"

"The club will be prepared for that" Draco told her, "As long as you don't listen to anything they say… I won't lie to you Princess. If they come out with any shocking information please don't believe it until I've confirmed it…"

"Ok…" she said slowly.

The weight of the press conference was beginning to dawn on her and remind her of what Draco had been a part of and it made her stomach feel like lead and it was sinking. She looked to the ground and waited for Draco to speak but instead he pushed her, gently, until she was back against the wall of the alleyway and he pulled her chin up so she had to look at him.

"It was a mistake. I've told you this - I got carried away, our whole team got carried away, and we allowed ourselves to do something stupid and we got caught but if the situation had been different, if i'd had the balls to begin pursuing you before I was forcibly placed in your apartment to hide out then I would never have been there and I'd have never done it ok?"

His eyes showed her nothing but sincerity and Hermione found that she believed him. She nodded and watched as his eyes darkened slightly before he leant down and kissed her. He pushed his body up against hers so that she could feel every defined muscle and also his growing hardness against her thigh.

"You should go first" he said while kissing her, "We need to arrive separately if you want to avoid suspicion and I don't want you waiting alone in this alleyway"

He kissed her hard and passionately for another minute before he pulled away, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"After the press conference, we have to have a team meeting so I will see you back at your place. Don't wait around ok?"

"Ok" she replied, slightly out of breath.

"I'll see you soon Princess"

She gave him a small smile before glancing around to check no one was watching them and then she apparated.

The Zabini Grand was a very classy, very high-brow hotel in Falmouth. Hermione knew that upon finishing school and after his mother's latest husband had died and left her a tonne of money, mother and son had purchased a chain of B-Class accommodations and had begun turning them into A-Class Hotels. So far, they had been quite successful. They were a sponsor of the Falcons (probably because of Blaise's friendship in school with Draco) and set the Falcon's up in their hotels whenever the team would travel. Today though, The Zabini Grand was also where the media press conference was being held. Hermione stepped into the lobby and had only glanced around a second when she found Harry.

"Over here 'Mione! What are you doing here?"

She hugged Harry when she got to him and noticed he was dressed up very professionally for the event.

"I'm here to support Draco" she explained.

Harry frowned at this, "What's going on 'Mione? I mean not that Malfoy isn't a good guy, we all know he turned over a new leaf during the war, but he's still a major prat"

"Well um we've been talking over the past couple of days and he admitted that he's liked me for quite a while and - well - I know Ginny has told you that I kind of had a bit of a thing for him… so we're going to try dating….. very low key and out of the media for now Harry - I've had to explain to him that I can't have my own image dragged through the mud with his right now"

"Yeah I thought he had a bit of a thing for you" Harry muttered, "But 'Mione its Malfoy. Are you sure its such a good idea to get involved with him? He's the best example I can give of a egotistical, 'dont care' attitude Quidditch player and he does have a massive reputation for messing around with a massive amount of ladies… In truth, I'm surprised this is the first time we're having to deal with a sexual scandal involving him, I'd have thought we'd be in this situation a lot sooner"

Hermione frowned and nodded. She knew that Harry was just looking out for her and warning her against trouble but it was weird to be in this situation - one where Harry was questioning her decisions. He was usually so on board with everything she decided to do.

"Its an unconventional decision thats for sure Harry and I mean how many people start off dating by attending the press conference about the person's participation in an orgy? But I believe that everyone deserves a second chance so yes this is horrible timing and maybe Draco won't be the right guy for me but I'd rather say I tried then ran away"

"I'll destroy him if he hurts you… you know that right?" Harry told her.

This made Hermione smile, "And I appreciate that"

Together they headed into the room where the media were already set up and waiting patently for the Falcon's team & coach to make their entrance. Hermione kept her head down as she followed Harry to a spot closest to the front, hoping that the lure of a press conference about an orgy, would be enough to keep the media from focusing in on her. Hopefully, they would just think she was here with Harry. Harry found her a seat and together they sat, now also waiting.

"So the club has found the players innocent?" she whispered to him.

He nodded, "Yes, well of everything except plain stupidity. Now I have to begin conducting my own investigation of the situation on behalf of the ministry before any disciplinary action can be handed down"

"This is all so ridiculous" Hermione replied, "One bloody idiotic decision and a week later they're still facing it. I hope the orgy was worth it"

"Interesting take from the woman who has managed to capture Draco Malfoy's attention for now"

That hurt slightly and Hermione frowned. Instantly, realising what he'd said was hurtful, Harry took her hand and squeezed,

"I'm sorry 'Mione. I'm so over dealing with this situation that it makes me cranky sometimes. I didn't mean it"

She nodded but said no more. A moment later, the murmur of the media picked up as the team and coach made their way up to the little makeshift stage. Hermione could see Draco's eyes searching for her and he gave a very sharp nod when he saw her sitting with Harry.

Ernie Dobkins - coach of the Falcon's - took his seat and glanced out at the media frenzy.

"Welcome women and men of the media. We appreciate you all making the trip out here to Falmouth. Now we are all here today because a statement must be made about the recent attention that has been focused on the club. To clarify, exactly one week ago today, we won our match against the Montrose Magpies and, as is the fashion, the team went out to celebrate after the game and debrief. At approximately 3am, the Falcon's Team were present and drinking in the bar section of the Amber Stone. Special emphasis needs to be made on the fact that they had not entered the brothel section of this establishment. A short while later, they were approached by several women who showed them to a section off area and what resulted was, in fact, an act of consensual group sex"

A sea of hands flew up into the air but the coach waved them all down.

"Investigations have been conducted by the club and will be carried on the Department of Magical Games and Sports but at this time the club finds no evidence of pre-meditated acts which bare cause to mis-represent the Falcon's club… only gross mis-thought. As a result of these findings, all players shall be eligible and will play in tomorrow's game against the Ballymore Bats. As a further result, all future celebratory outings shall be done under supervision of club personnel. We will now take questions…"

The media frenzy broke loose and questions were voiced from left, right and centre…

"Ah Ms Bates" the coach said.

"Is it true that one or more of your players have found themselves infected with serious sexually transmitted diseases which may, at the very least, put fellow teams at risk when playing against the Falcons?"

"All players have been tested and the results have come back negative for any sexually transmitted diseases. Evidently, some kind of protection was used"

"Bokkins! Bokkins! Is it true that this latest scandal of infidelity has caused your wife to leave you?"

"Oliver Bokkins" Harry whispered to Hermione, "Not the first time his wife has caught him cheating on her. She holds on for the money"

"No" Bokkins replied, "My wife has chosen to forgive me for my crude lack of judgement"

"Malfoy! Is it true that this orgy was, in fact, your idea of a celebratory gift to the team and was one of the women participating not an ex-lover?"

Hermione watched as Draco frowned and shook his head,

"Between training, the games, team meetings and trying to have a life of my own outside of Quidditch I can assure you I did not have the time - nor the will - to orchestra an orgy in celebration of our victory and, no, I was not known to any of the women who participated in this act prior to the act itself"

"But it is true Draco that this is not the first group sex act you have been involved in is it?" A small, balding man shouted from the front.

"Lets keep these questions on topic please" The coach cut in very quickly.

Hermione saw Draco's face when the man asked this and her leadened stomach sunk a little further. The look on Draco's face was one of surprise, not disbelief - he'd been shocked to find this little man knew this information. Harry squeezed her hand.

"Is it true that at least two of the women participating in this act were underage coach?"

"Absolutely not" Dobkins answered, "All the women have been verified and all were over the age of 17 and consensual participants"

"Is it true Coach that 3 or more of your boys were under the influence of illicit substances that night?"

"That is something for the Ministry to investigate" The coach replied.

"Malfoy! Malfoy! This would not be your first dabble in drugs would it?"

"Sir I am going to ask that you keep your questions on topic or you shall be removed!" The coach said firmly.

Once again, Hermione watched as Draco was quick to ensure that nothing but a blank look graced his features.

"The people have a right to know these details about their MVP Coach!" The man shouted, "Is it true Draco that you have bought the time of sex workers before?"

"Out!" the coach roared.

A moment later, the man was escorted out by two very large, burly looking security guards. Hermione watched him struggle against them as he left, a feat he was unsuccessful in.

"Hermione?"

Hearing her name, Hermione glanced at Harry and realised she was shaking and her eyes stung from her refusal to allow her tears to run free.

"Be brave 'Mione. You can't let the media see you're affected or they will put two and two together or worse.. they'll put two and four together and make a mountain out of a mole hill. Its almost over I promise you"

"Coach! Will this same supervisory approach be taken with the players during away games?"

"It is not very often that the players go out to celebrate victories during away games but in the event that this was to happen then yes, the same supervisory approach will be taken"

"What is the expected outcome of the Ministry's investigation?"

"That is something we will all have to wait and see about"

More questions broke out but the coach held up his hand,

"At this point I wish to end this media conference. Any further questions can be sent straight to our Falcon's Management Team… but until then the boys and I are in much need of a team session and we look forward to seeing you all out at Exmoor Stadium tomorrow"

The coach and team stood together and slowly made their way off the makeshift stage as the media went wild with more questions but none were answered. Hermione kept her head down, staring at her clenched hands, she didn't want to look at Draco right now for fear that the look she knew she was unable to keep off her face would give them away and open up a new whole frenzy of questions and madness.

"He's trying to catch your eye you know?" Harry whispered to her.

She nodded, "I know he will be but I just can't right now Harry, I can't. I need time to go home and process this while he's not there. So I'm just going to go ok?"

She waited until the door was cleared and then quickly gave Harry a hug and left. She was too overwhelmed, too swamped with questions to do anything but make her escape and try to put the pieces of her shattered self-respect back together again. Had she made the right decision saying she would give Draco a chance? There were still so many questions, so many things she didn't know that perhaps she needed to know. She needed time and silence and one hell of a stiff drink.


	6. Chapter 6

Happy Friday my wonderful followers!  
>Allow me to gift you with another chapter - I've had quite a few reviews asking for one and you have inspired me all of you.<p>

My best of wishes for your weekends - I hope they are full of fun and maybe even some naughtiness (Draco type naughtiness!)

Straight

xx

XxXxXx

It was 7pm. The press conference had started at 3pm, ended roughly at 3:45pm and by the time Hermione had gotten home it was 4pm. This had given her three hours to change into a cute black casual dress that she wore around the house that came to mid-thigh, make some pasta for dinner and get herself a drink. She was now sitting out on her balcony, drink in hand, lounging on the outdoor lounge and thinking over the things she'd heard at the press conference. Her first thoughts that came to mind were, who was that balding man? How did he know what he knew? and, was it true? The last question that came to mind was, if it was all true, how did she feel about it?

Hermione was a realist. She knew that Draco had never been perfect - my god she'd gone through school with him. She knew about the mass of girls that got around Hogwarts bragging of the sexual prowess of the Slytherin Prince and she knew he was always a bit of a trouble maker… but drugs? Other occasions of group sex? She'd never heard of these instances but then again she wasn't exactly following the stories on the Slytherin Grapevine during school if she could help it. Realistically, Hermione knew that everyone came with their own baggage, a past and mistakes that perhaps they'd wished they'd never made but was Draco repeating his mistakes?

She'd been in a true state of shock after the conference. Wondering what she'd gotten herself into? Who she'd agreed to allow more intimately into her life? The drink had calmed her some but not enough to dampen her intellect. A lot of Draco's life played out in the media, she knew this. To a degree, so did her own but she really only used the media to market the business. When it came to her personal life, Hermione had always tried to keep that under wraps. It had ultimately cost her Ron - Ron had gone on to become a celebrity. He endorsed products, took part in charity games, had his own brand of cologne - the list went on. He had wanted to be in the spotlight from the beginning and his War Hero status allowed that. Hermione had not been so enthusiastic. Now though, Hermione was facing down the barrel of a potential relationship with someone who drew in just as much, if not more, media attention then Ron and she was left wondering how she felt about that? It had been much easier to not think about it and agree to give Draco a chance before the conference today.

Sighing, Hermione took another sip of her drink and looked out onto the night lights of Wizarding London. She loved her apartment for many reasons but one of those reasons was the view at night. Hermione loved to sit outside sometimes and just watch as the little lights of the apartments and businesses in the area filled the dark night sky - the view in itself was almost magical. The 'ting' of the floo interrupted her thoughts and not a moment later, Hermione watched as Draco climbed out of the fire place dressed in what she could only assume was a training uniform. He glanced around until he found her out on the balcony and smiled, stripping off his shirt before he came outside to join her.

"Was losing the shirt completely necessary?" she asked him.

"If you knew how badly it smelt, you'd agree it was completely necessary"

He took a seat next to her on the couch and watched her a moment,

"You don't look happy" he observed.

"Its not that" she sighed, "I'm just confused"

He flicked his wand to make sure all the right kind of wards were up to ensure people didn't overhear their conversation from above or below apartments before he said,

"It was that man at the press conference wasn't it?"

She shrugged, "That depends… was what he was saying true?"

Draco took the glass from her hand and had a sip of her drink before returning it to her. He was taking his time in responding and that made Hermione infinitely more nervous about what she was going to hear…

"Its not untrue" he finally said, "But somethings were exaggerated slightly"

"Such as?"

"Well the sex workers, for example. Yes, I've purchased hookers before but not for myself… there has been the odd bachelor party or birthday party over the years. I've never paid for a woman's company for myself"

Hermione nodded.

"And the drugs… well yes I've done drugs but that was back when we were in Hogwarts. I haven't touched them since leaving school and deciding I wanted to play Quidditch professionally"

"A-and the other acts of group sex?" Hermione whispered.

She watched as Draco looked at her unsurely and then sighed and nodded,

"Yes there have been other times when I've been involved in a sexual act with more then one person"

That was perhaps the one answer Hermione had been dreading hearing the most and, also, the one answer she was now realising probably meant the most to her. It brought with it a new bunch of concerns and doubts over the chance she'd agreed to give Draco. Hermione didn't date those kinds of guys, she didn't spend time hanging around men who liked the idea of trivialising sex by doing it with more then one person at more then one time. She clutched her drink tighter and didn't answer Draco, afraid of what she might say, instead she kept her focus on the lights of the city.

"Hermione" Draco said cautiously, "You have to understand something…"

"I don't have to do anything" she said, quietly.

"Ok well I'd like you to try and understand something" he said carefully, "I said I wouldn't lie to you and I won't but all of that - the drugs, the orgies - its in my past. I was young and not thinking about the future - I was in school doing the drugs and the other thing… well that was my first year as a young gun for a professional Quidditch team - the adoration of the fans, especially the girls, it really overwhelms you and I wasn't committed to anyone, I didn't have anyone else to consider so I was living a opportunistic life but after a couple of months… well I slowed down. I adjusted and, yes, I've made a stupid mistake this time around getting involved in yet another orgy but I won't do that again - its not worth it for my reputation, its not worth it for my career and its definitely not worth it because it's embarrassed my family and friends and, mostly importantly, its making you doubt me right now"

He gently reached a hand up to turn her face towards him so he could look her in the eyes,

"Hermione I would never purposefully do anything to hurt you or make you doubt me. Please… please believe me when I say that"

She could see the depth of sincerity in his eyes and she could see he meant what he was saying but it didn't stop the sting that was causing her eyes to water.

"How would it make you feel Draco if you'd known I'd slept with 3 guys in the one go before we begun dating? If you knew that so many people had seem me, experienced me, in such an intimate way"

He shook his head, "No baby… its not intimate. Never. Its cold and selfish… it leaves you feeling empty"

"Do you still see any of those girls?"

"No" he said, straight away, "and I will make sure I never do again if it means you'll feel better about me and my past"

She turned towards him slightly and took one of his hands in hers,

"I don't want you to think I feel in any way bad about you but the things in your past are so different to mine and they make me feel nervous about giving you this chance because what if I'm not enough for you? And what if you don't realise that right away and then I get attached and then you leave? God I don't want you to be another Ron to me"

"I've wanted you for so long that I am positive you are everything I need baby… I'm not the Weasal… I've wanted you for too long… so much longer then he's wanted you"

"I can't do those things for you …" she added quietly, "I can't get involved in group sex or drugs or anything even remotely close to those things"

"I'd never ask you to and I don't want that for you Hermione please believe me. Today the worst aspects of my entire past - well Death Eater business aside - were put on display for the entire Wizarding World to hear about and I have to face that but would anyone look so good if all the worst parts of their life were laid out for everyone to see?"

Hermione thought on that for a moment and realised he was probably right. They all had things in their pasts - including her- that they would hate everyone to know about, to have people passing them in the street to be reading about in newspapers. It was very confronting to even think about, let alone experience as Draco was right now. Finally, Hermione nodded.

"You're right" she said slowly, "Your past is in the past. Everything just overwhelmed me for a bit I suppose… I'm not used to this"

"This?" Draco asked her.

Hermione giggled quietly, "My past two boyfriends have been so … undramatic… Even their skeletons in the closet were rather underwhelming and not anything anyone would be terribly interested in and then you come along all high-profile this and media-attention that and your skeletons are so … well I'm just not used to it thats all"

"Well don't get used to it Princess… from now on I'm only going to have boring skeletons locked away in this closet and I'm going to settle down and become a well-behaved committed man"

Using her hand that was still holding onto his, Draco pulled her towards him across the couch and laid his lips on hers, kissing her gently. Hermione smiled and moved herself closer so she wasn't having to lean across to him. Draco Malfoy could kiss - that had never been in any doubt.

"I don't think the words 'well-behaved' and 'Draco Malfoy' are able to mix together…." she giggled.

"Maybe you're right" he replied, huskily, "Especially now"

With a gentle amount of strength, Draco pushed her back until she was lying on the couch and she watched as he adjusted himself, pushing himself onto his knees and arms so that he could crawl up her body and slowly lower himself on top of her. A hand slid along her body and pulled her legs apart so that his body could rest between them and he ground into her roughly before he kissed her once more, this time much harder and with more passion then Hermione had ever been kissed with. She heard herself release a small moan at the feeling and felt Draco's smirk as he continued to kiss her. It was a very different feeling having Draco on top of her, his muscles that Hermione had always quietly admired from afar were now literally in her reach and she could feel them flex and release as she ran her hands down his back - it turned out while topless may not have been necessary it certainly was a bonus. One of Draco's hands had returned to her leg and was hooking in behind her knee, forcing her leg to bend and wrap around his hips as he ground into her again. However, this time Hermione felt a hardness brush against her centre that hadn't before and a second moan was compelled from her as a rush of arousal shot straight through her system.

"Even kissing you gets me hard baby… you're my own personal aphrodisiac"

Despite their two clothed centres, Hermione was surprised at just how hard he felt brushing against her. Surely, he couldn't be that… He ground into her again and Hermione felt her body shudder as he put pressure against a spot that Ron had never seemed to be able to find and that was when she realised this was moving way to quickly. She regretted it, oh how she regretted it, but using every ounce of her self-control, Hermione gently placed a hand on Draco's chest and pushed him back.

"Are you ok?" he asked almost instantly.

She nodded, "To fast…."

She could see the flash of disappointment in his eyes but it was quickly replaced with understanding as he nodded and kissed her gently once more.

"You get me so hot" he offered as way of explanation.

Slowly, he climbed off her and helped her to return to a sitting position on the couch. They each took a couple of deep breaths and stared at each other a moment. Finally, Draco spoke,

"I'm glad you stopped me" he said, "I don't want to push you 'Mione. I want to go at your pace but you affect me so damn much that you might have to stop me again in the future"

She nodded, "Thank you for understanding. Its not that I'm a virgin or anything like that but I do want this to work and, for me, that means that we have to go a little slower"

She saw him nod and then watched as he stood,

"I'm going to go and have a cold shower. I stink from training anyway… Are you going to bed now?"

"Soon" Hermione said, "I'll make us some hot chocolates first"

He smiled and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her cheek, "Sounds great"

As he stepped inside, Hermione allowed herself a moment to take another couple of deep breaths, the man was attractive and even though they'd only kissed and done a light amount of dry humping, his system wasn't the only one going haywire with need. Hermione knew she would have to be some kind of a-sexual being not to be affected by Draco Malfoy and his sculpted body and his hot, dirty words and it had been so hard to stop him when all her body had wanted him to do was to continue to ravage her, take her to levels of pleasure Hermione hadn't experienced before but was beginning to realise he could probably take her to. They'd had to stop tonight, Hermione wasn't ready, but when she was… well that was something to look forward to.


End file.
